Marc Staal Returns Today

As speculated by myself yesterday and debated between myself and Chris today, defenseman Marc Staal will return to the lineup today for the Winter Classic. He will play on the third pairing with Stu Bickel. No word on who will sit, but my hunch is either Ryan McDonagh (flu) or Jeff Woywitka (healthy).

This is big news for the Rangers, who have been without Staal the entire season. Staal will see limited minutes, but it is great to see him back.

I hope that he is fully healthy and ready to play because I think Staal’s return makes us that much better. I don’t like the timing because it is after all the Winter Classic. My hopes are it is not a publicity stunt